November is synonymous with Thanksgiving Day. I look forward to sharing a special holiday meal with family and friends and giving thanks for all my blessings. With Thanksgiving as November’s main event, it’s easy to lose sight of other things I’m thankful for besides food on the fourth Thursday of the month. Here are some other things for which I am truly grateful.

Our veterans whose service and sacrifice is unparalleled. Pictured here is my great grandmother, Dolly Avery, standing between her sons, my great uncle, Forest, on the left and my grandfather, Charles, on the right.

Both men served honorably in the U.S. armed forces. My grandfather arrived in San Diego from Oklahoma in 1943. His move from the Midwest made me a native San Diegan.

I owe them and all our acting and retired service men and women my thanks for their dedication to our country.

So many servicemembers are overseas this Thanksgiving and don’t get to pass the mashed potatoes or carve the turkey with their parents, spouses, children and siblings.

I’m thankful for our first responders, trash collectors, street crews and others making up the city’s 10,000-person workforce provide vital services we all rely on each day. Their efforts keep our city’s engine running.

I’m thankful for my City Council colleagues, who focus on improving their neighborhoods and look for ways to make San Diego’s economy more robust. They are dedicated public servants who strive every day to make San Diego an even better place to live.

I’m thankful for those who are caregivers to our ill, elderly and homeless. By way of example, their service and big hearts remind us to practice patience and empathy toward all our neighbors.

I’m thankful for being born and raised in a city that has such a varied and vibrant cultural identity.

This is the town where a Native American, Filipino, Puerto Rican, Dutch son of a maid and a gardener became the interim mayor of San Diego. This is the town where I have lumpia and tamales next to the turkey and stuffing on my Thanksgiving plate.

Finally, I am thankful for the ability to serve. I ask for your continued patience and participation as we draw closer to electing a new mayor for San Diego on Nov. 19. Happy Thanksgiving to all.